this is "world news" and tonight "your voice, your vote," tens of millions of americans going to the polls. lining up for hours to choose their president at schools, homes, laundromats, even car dealerships. and even americans in the storm zone doing what it takes to make their voices heard voting by flashlight in the shelters. after this long and tough road, the president appears at the end of his final campaign. >> we've made real progress these past four years. >> the challenger, governor romney fighting for the last vote. >> that's when you know you'll win. getting ready for this

historic night. our abc news political team here and reporting across the nation as tonight it is the vote, the big picture, election day in america. good evening from the crosoads of the world, pulse of the nation, abc news election headquarters in times square on this historic day for democracy after one of the toughest elections ever, americans are choosing a president. and our great abc news team of analysts and experts have taken their posts eager to tell you would won, how and why throughout this evening. and it is "your voice, your vote." it will be lighting up our maps here at election headquarters. and we also thank you all day long. you have sent us pictures proving how much you care about this vote and we saw you lining

up before dawn in virginia, braving lines, rain in florida, children in tow and even guys with surfboards and bare feet as in chicago a woman who went to the polls while in labor then went on to the hospital. talk about the candidates in these last moments, the two men who have been racing to the finish line spent the day proving determination and stamina and abc's white house correspondent jake tapper starts us off in chicago where the president is with his family waiting for results. jake. >> reporter: good evening on this exciting night, diane. president obama and his campaign are gurding hem thfls for a long night and the president said this might spill into the morning but he fully expects by tomorrow he will be re-elected. it is out of his hands and in yours. >> my name is barack obama, you know, the president. >> reporter: at a chicago campaign field office president obama called volunteers in

wisconsin to thank them for their hard work. >> hi, is this annie? hi, this is barack obama, how are you? [ laughter ] i'm doing -- you know -- i don't think she knows it's me. >> reporter: his message has been one of staying the course. forward. painted himself as a warrior for the middle class. >> are you fired up? >> all: fired up. >> are you fired up? >> reporter: but today another message, an olive branch. >> i also want to say to governor romney, congratulations on a spirited campaign. >> reporter: later today joined by scottie pippen and his old friends the president played basketball, an election day superstition. he did not do so the day of the 2008 new hampshire primary and has not repeated that mistake. also not taking anything for granted vice president biden who made a quick stop in must win buckeye battleground ohio. the son of scranton, gave

clevelanders part of his folksy charm. >> running for county council. >> reporter: it's been an emotional home stretch late last night with his wife in the state that launched his national career, iowa. >> as you know this is a pretty emotional time for us because this is the final event of my husband's final campaign. >> reporter: sleep deprived in the battle of his life standing in the freezing cold, the president saw old familiar faces in the crowd of 20,000 before him. >> to all of you who've lived and breathed the hard work of change, i want to thank you. >> reporter: tears streamed down his face. >> that's the spirit that carried us through the trials and tribulations the last four years. >> reporter: and now president obama is in a suite at the fairmont hotel. he is waiting for his family,

his girls have arrived. they flew here after school with the president's mother-in-law. they'll be watching the returns at the hotel. the president is expected to return to washington, d.c., diane, tomorrow afternoon. diane? >> okay, jake, thank you so much. and again, we have been following you on social media and so many of you wrote us to tell us about epic lines you encountered at the polls coast to coast. you can see some of them right there in washington, d.c., but people did wait hours and hours to vote and the voting remained in full swing and does now, but it hasn't stopped governor romney from squeezing in a few more campaign stops and abc's david muir was there with him. david? >> reporter: diane, good evening. can you believe the day is finally here and as you mentioned a frenetic pace for governor romney right up the end he just landed here in boston after stops in ohio and pennsylvania today. they do believe pennsylvania is now in play for the republicans but i got to tell you it all started this morning when he

walked into his own polling place in his neighborhood in belmont, massachusetts and was hummed when he saw his name right there for president of the united states. mitt romney and his wife ann back home this morning walking in to cast their vote. a quiet moment side by side after nearly six years of campaigning, two runs for the white house and tonight he is one step away. outside a kiss and then a question about ohio. >> yeah, i feel great about ohio. thank you. >> reporter: but not taking that state for granted a last-minute dash today back to ohio. his body man taking this image on the plane proudly wearing this pin and the plane and running mate's plane paul ryan and vice president joe biden's plane in a state both sides want to win. it's been a race to the finish traveling 15,000 miles in 4 days. overnight on my iphone capturing this moment, the romney plane pulling into this columbus, ohio, hangar and soon after we

were all back on the plane. we're headed to new hampshire. headed to new hampshire where his candidacy began for a rally lasting past midnight. >> this is where our campaign began. you got it started a year and a half ago. >> reporter: we were standing right there as he worked his last rope line as a candidate but now to us for that giant bear hug. if anyone is revealing the rigors, it is ann overcome last night by the support. >> i'm so moved. so emotional to have this kind of reception from ohio, a state that is going to make the next president of the united states. [ cheers ] >> reporter: in the final hours romney is sticking to his playbook. >> it's all coming together today. >> reporter: all about the economy, pushing his vision of lower taxes and working on his ipad on tonight's speech and one more stop, pennsylvania, once considered a long shot now they believe within reach and unexpected moment in pittsburgh, a parking garage filled with

supporters. the governor with his hand to his heart and a wave telling abc news afterwards. >> that's how know you're going to win. >> reporter: i can tell you, diane, right here in the hall they're beginning to gather at the romney victory party. they're hoping a few hours from now later here in evening and i can tell you the governor, his wife ann and five sons are holding at the westin hotel and the speech he was working on on his ipad, it's 1100 words long and asked if he had two versions. he said, diane, he has one and it's a victory speech. >> all right, david. but tell me again, he's going to be watching with his family right there? >> reporter: yes, the five sons are all here. the big number i've got to get for you, how many grandchildren. as you know that number is much larger. we will track that down as the evening goes on. they're waiting in the hotel right next door. >> good luck with all those grandchildren. now i want to bring in the co-anchor, george stephanopoulos, right here, so, george, we have the first window

on to what people are saying as they come out of the polls. >> i saw a surprise in the first window. when we asked people where they think the country is going on the right track or in the wrong direction, a year ago 77% thought we were on the wrong track even as late as august it was 69%. today, down to 52%. pretty dramatic increase in optimism over the last several weeks and asked them about the candidates and the economy. president obama has a small advantage, you see it right down in front of us, 52-44% on empathy being in touch but overall trust to handle the economy it flips a little and governor romney has a slight advantage over president obama, 50%-47%. different views on the candidates and the economy. >> so i'm calculating, your first campaign, 1988. >> that's right. a little over 25 years ago. >> so what's the most important thing you'll be watching? >> i'm looking at three things, the first one is a number, 74%. that was the share of the electorate four years ago in

2008. down every year. if that goes up, that is good news for governor romney. if it continues to go down that will be good news for president obama. the second thing i'll be looking at is a state, early state, virginia, the polls closed there at 7:00. governor romney has to win that state to be in the hunt for 270 electoral votes. if he doesn't, president obama does, he will be on his way to victory and finally going to be looking at an issue. that is the issue of the auto bailout. big dramatic action. president obama took early on. many jobs across the industrial midwest, president obama's fire wall, ohio and wisconsin and michigan were dependent on the auto industry. if you see a favorable ritting for that that's good news for the president. >> we will be right here bringing everybody the big news tonight. because it is a once in a generation election. a changing america election and rarely have the stakes been higher and not just because the white house is up for grabs so is control of the senate and

abc's jonathan karl, our veteran capitol hill correspondent is here and we ask in the three places he'll be watching tonight, the states also voting by the way on some pretty far-ranging things. we'll get to that in a moment. jon. >> that's the other big battle is the battle for control of the u.s. senate so very early in the night i'm going to be looking at two senate seats especially. the first one up in massachusetts, this is scott brown against elizabeth warren. the most expensive race in the country. the most high profile. it has been a bitter race. if republican scott brown loses in massachusetts, the republicans have a much harder time to win control of the senate. the other one also early in the night is going to be in the state of indiana, this is richard mourdock running against donny. they controlled it for 36 years. should have been a slam dunk but he made controversial comments on rape and abortion now it's at risk for republicans. if they lose both of those it will be virtually impossible to

win control of the senate. my third one is actually a house seat. all 435 members up. that's in minnesota, michele bachmann running for re-election, of course, a year ago she was a front runner to run for president now fighting for her political life for her own district in minnesota. >> the states putting up referendum some wide-ranging things. what's number one you'll be looking at. >> we could have legalized marijuana in three states at the end of the night. that's what i'll be looking at. >> real possibility. >> it's a possibility. [ laughter ] >> all right. i'm going to see you later. >> we'll talk later. >> put you down for a talk. you're going to be with us, of course, all this evening. jon, george, the abc news political team standing by, analysts and experts ready to roll as "your voice, your vote" rolls in starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern. coming up next here, election day in the storm zone, the amazing ways americans are

making their voices heard against all odds. i've been a superintendent for 30 some years at many different park service units across the united states. the only time i've ever had a break is when i was on maternity leave. i have retired from doing this one thing that i loved. now, i'm going to be able to have the time to explore something different. it's like another chapter.

and on this big day in america we ask all of you to give us three words, and here's a photo of three words. take a look. we loved it. we the people coming up after people are showing you voting here right now. we the people turning out even in the shelters showing a unity that is strengthening family as cross the storm zone even in the darkness and the cold. images that poured in to us all

day long from our voting -- our voting colleagues, our voting americans in the shelters and the tents with their flashlights, family suffering after sandy a. as you know vo n unbroken to vote. linsey davis tells us what they're facing tonight. >> reporter: without power, but not power-less. in some of the areas most devastated by hurricane sandy, we saw images like this of the victims, eager to show with everything they lost, they still have a voice. in rockaway park, queens, when the generators ran out of gas, voters had to cast ballots in the dark. some new jersey voters climbed into winnebagos to cast their ballots. overwhelmed by applications, state officials there extended the deadline for casting votes by e-mail until friday. hard-hit staten island residents are still trying to catch their breath. did you get a chance to vote today? >> vote. no. look at this. who's got time to vote?

>> reporter: now with the added burden of another storm on the way, expected to hit tomorrow night, this devastated coastline is in the bull's-eye of a nor'easter bringing rain, high winds, coastal flooding, even snow to an already battered region. >> we could have some snow on the ground and certainly snow on the trees. that makes the trees that already have their bases flooded more likely to fall over. >> this is the new york city police department. >> reporter: new york city is prepping again urging residents in the lowest lying areas to move out of the storm's path ago as parks, playgrounds and beaches are expected to close for 24 hours beginning at noon tomorrow. new jersey officials are watching the path of the storm closely. >> just when i thought i was going to start to get some more sleep we're going to get the nor'easter and i think it's going to be all hands on deck again. >> how much more can we take? >> reporter: at the peak of the power outages, more than 8.5 million people were without power. today, close to a million are still in the dark. and now the fear is that those who just got their power back

may lose it again. >> why does it always happen we get creamed with a storm and then two days later there's another storm? >> reporter: elinda restaina, a mother of seven, is trying to work fast to salvage what she can before the next round of rain and wind. >> you can take our home but you can't take our heart. >> reporter: linsey davis, abc news, staten island. >> thank you, linsey. all of us at abc want to make sure help is on the way for those families and thanks to your extraordinary generosity, all of you and the abc family coming together for a day of giving, listen to this. we have raised more than $17 million to help filies suffering in the storm zone and, by the way, it is not too late to help. the phone lines are still open, call 1-800-help-now or go to our website, abcnews.com and thanks to all of you for your incredible generosity. coming up, something to make everyone smile on this election

day. we asked which song plays into your head as you go to the polls? an election day playlist. you gave it to us today. ♪ born in the usa ♪ born in the usa ♪ born in the usa i was in the ambulance and i was told to call my next of kin. at 33 years old, i was having a heart attack. now i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i didn't know this could happen so young. take control, talk to your doctor.

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use polident® everyday. why they're always there to talk. i love you, james. don't you love me? i'm a robot. i know. i know you're a robot! but there's more in you than just circuits and wires! uhhh. (cries) a machine can't give you what a person can. that's why ally has knowledgeable people there for you, night and day. ally bank. your money needs an ally. we loved hearing from you all day on twitter, on facebook and e-mails. so many of you telling us that as you cast your vote, you never

forgot that it's a kind of celebration of democracy with its very own soundtrack so we asked you tell us which song was playing in your head as you went in the voting booth. ♪ i feel good ♪ o say can you see ♪ by the dawn's early light ♪ devil with the blue dress on >> i saw all this red. ♪ let's get it on >> marion gay. ♪ quite a difference four years made every minute every hour ♪ ♪ born in the usa ♪ i was born in the usa >> like springsteen said -- ♪ baby i was born to run ♪ we've only just begun ♪ god bless america land that i love stand beside her and guide her through the night by the light from above ♪

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we are counting down, just minutes away from the first polls closing. we are all gathering here, so we asked abc's josh elliott to give a kind of backstage tour of abc's election headquarters. >> that's right, diane. we are in the nerve center of our election headquarters at abc news and what a nerve center it is. we do want to show you where we will be parsing all the information tonight as it become as valuable as we elect a new president. here to my left the insiders, matthew dowd, nicolle wallace, donna brazile, george will and barbara walters will tell us what it means when a state turns one way, what it might mean four years from now. to the right of our set we also have our insiders' desk. remember, there are many key house and senate races still to be decided and they will be parsed and synthesized, as well. the banks of seats, we have our analysis desk and ballot watch team. the analysis desk is really the

first point of entry for the raw information, the exit poll numbers that will become the real numbers that you will see and then you see the ballot watch team led by pierre thomas looking for any irregularities at voting and polling stations around the country and that flows to our twin pillars of rome as george and diane will then bring it to you and as you can see here technology will play a part, the information will spring from the floor. this huge l.e.d. screen, in fact, george with a touch screen in front of him has the ability to tell us when a state turns and maybe why it did. county by county parsing it for you as best as we can. obviously technology will be a star and to that end social media which has had an impact on this election unlike any other will have a place with us, as well. this is our social media corner, you see. a touch screen and katie couric will be with us tonight

monitoring what you are talking about on facebook and on twitter as we have all come to see history tonight, as our president will be re-elected or the republicans will have taken back the white house and we do hope you joins at abc news till the very last, diane. >> we thank you. and our election 2012 coverage will begin right now. george stephanopoulos, the powerhouse political team standing by. we will be here with the latest minute-by-minute results as they come in and see you after a short break.